Jews are told to remember all the time -- not just on Remembrance Day -- the horrors of the Holocaust. Unfortunately, the support that comes from all that remembering typically seems to just reverberate around a somewhat insulated community. That's not good enough for me.

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are right around the corner. In light of these fast-approaching festivities, we've got a smorgasbord of tasty recipes that will be sure to satisfy your children, your children's children, your aunts, uncles, in-laws, cousins and even your pet whom you sneak a little somethin' to under the table.

Emile knows that he's Jewish, but it's an esoteric concept at his age. He loves eating gefilte fish and searching for the afikomen, hates how long Passover seders take and boasts to his buddies about getting two holidays instead of one in December. I used to do the same. But because we're an invisible minority, it can easily disappear. Maintaining it requires effort. So my role as a father is to help him see the value in making Jewish history, culture and traditions a part of him -- he can decide on the religious part on his own -- so that he might one day pass it all on to his own child.

By virtue of a shared language, religion, skin colour or ethnic background, should we feel compelled to publicly denounce an individual that commits a criminal offence? Is it fair to assume that the absence of such a denunciation implies a tacit endorsement of the offender?

Last month, Toronto Police released a report on hate crimes in the city during 2015, and for the tenth year in a row Jews topped the list of most targeted communities. The facts suggest that certain people are seriously misjudging the state of anti-Semitism in Canada today: It is, unfortunately, far from being an "abused" term.

"Anti-Semitism" may be the most abused term in Canada today. Almost entirely divorced from its dictionary definition -- "discrimination against or prejudice or hostility toward Jews" -- it is now primarily invoked to uphold Jewish/white privilege. Inward looking and affluent, the Jewish community is quick to claim victimhood. But, like an out of control child, the major Jewish organizations need to seriously reevaluate what they aim to represent in the public sphere.

I am an orthodox Jewish woman and it's something I'm proud of. I know I may seem different to you, strange even. We look different, we keep mostly to ourselves and basically live in our own little bubble. I understand you don't "get" us. But I don't understand why we deserve the hatred directed at us.

Trump's scapegoating of Muslims, Hispanics, blacks and other "others" for political gain is exposing a racist ugliness, and dangerously inflaming it. Who knows how big the fire might get? "Never forget" became a Jewish slogan in hopes our collective memory might prevent another Holocaust, but also because we can't forget. It defines us. So as hard as it is to hear Hitler's name all over the news, let it at least remind us why we must stop Trump and all leaders who traffic in racism and xenophobia before such hate defines anyone else.

According to the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, Toronto is home to Canada's largest Jewish population with approximately 200,000 Jews living in the Greater Toronto Area. If you want to be immersed in unique Jewish culture and explore all that Jewish Toronto has to offer, pack your bags and come on down!

Frequently underlying the purported threat Obama represents to his own country is innuendo about his 'true' identity accompanied by allegations about the hidden Islamist tendencies. Given the absence of any proof to support such ludicrous assertions, 'Obamabashers' conduct whisper campaigns often around dinner tables or other social gatherings.

Resettlement will enable many Syrians to provide their children an opportunity to escape what will be remembered as one of the worst humanitarian disasters of the 21st Century. However, asylum in the West can only resolve a fraction of the crisis unfolding on the ground in the Middle East.

No country should be beyond legitimate criticism and all should be measured against the same yardstick, but when you single out one country over all others, namely Israel, and hold it to a unique standard and put it on the receiving end of exclusive censure, it's anti-Semitism, plain and simple.

I loved TV, so to enjoy the adventures of (the bionic) Steve Austin or Jim Rockford or Fonzie and the Cunninghams, I had to endure the obvious social-engineering messages that reminded me I was an outsider.
Then along came David Letterman.

I thought about my own prayer life, which consisted almost exclusively of asking God for things. That wasn't a relationship. Passover reminded me that our spiritual journey isn't about "practicing religion" -- it's about living faith.

We make, serve and share organic food -- and as much locally grown and made as possible -- and we make sure to take everyone around our table into consideration: allergies, lifestyle, beliefs (in our home that means nut-free and plant-based, so thank goodness for quinoa!).

If our core values -- democracy, tolerance, pluralism -- are to prevail, moderates must act before the extreme right and the extreme left hijack the discourse. We must move quickly and decisively to prevent such atrocities from recurring, beginning with four critical steps.

The irony is that it seems to be some Christians themselves who, in an effort to show respect for non-Christians, often pre-emptively remove "Christmas" from their greetings, events, and public symbols. While the intention is laudable, the effort is largely unnecessary. I appreciate and welcome the deep connection Christians have to the symbols of their holidays.

I am grateful to be able to say my focus remains on imagining the possibilities for a resumption of peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. I have the privilege of maintaining, with relative ease, a personal sense of hope with respect to a two-state solution.

This week, Canadians observed the National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism. For Sikh Canadians and Jewish Canadians alike, the Day of Remembrance has particular resonance. That our two communities have shared experience in facing terrorism was pointedly on display during the 2008 Mumbai attack.

The Metropolitan Opera recently announced it would cancel a planned worldwide cinema broadcast of John Adams' haunting opera, The Death of Klinghoffer. Indeed the whole opera has been criticized -- including by Lisa and Ilsa Klinghoffer, the daughters of Leon and Marilyn Klinghoffer -- as humanizing and even justifying acts of terrorism.

"You're Jew-ish?" my roommate awkwardly inquired, examining me so closely I could have sworn she was looking for horns. It was clear we had both grown up in completely diverse situations, practicing different religions in very dissimilar neighbourhoods. I quickly came to realize that I was now in fact the highly unwarranted representative of the entire Jewish population.

On January 27, 2014, the largest-ever delegation of Knesset (Israeli Parliament) members will convene overseas -- on the grounds of Auschwitz-Birkenau, together with Holocaust survivors, for a historic gathering on combating anti-Semitism.

Sometimes the worst of times may be the best of times in disguise. I repeat the caveat: sometimes. Case in point, let's look at four very different mayors from across Canada: Gérald Tremblay, Rob Ford, Naheed Nenshi, and Colette Roy-Laroche. They all faced different types of crises this summer, and their responses defined them in the public eye.